The Hive Guardian rose from the black sap like a nightmare, four burning eyes fixed on Kael. Its upper body was vaguely humanoid, but the rest was a tangle of roots and chitin-plated limbs. Each arm ended in a cluster of hooked talons, each as long as Kael's forearm.
The vat trembled as it stepped out, sap running off its armored frame. The smell — scorched bark and rotting flesh — filled the chamber.
Hive Guardian — B-Rank (Mid), GP ~1,150.
"Big," Ryn muttered from the side. Her crossbow was up, but Kael could see she was searching for a weak point.
"Fast, too," Kael said, eyes locked on the Guardian's stance. He'd fought large beasts before — most of them were powerful but slow. This one crouched low, weight balanced. It was ready to move.
The heart beat behind it, slow and heavy. Each thump sent a ripple through the sap still clinging to its armor.
The Guardian moved first.
One heartbeat it was crouched at the vat's edge — the next, it was in front of him. Its talons came in high, a downward strike meant to crush him outright.
Stonehide flared just in time, the blow ringing through his arms like hammer strikes. The floor cracked under his boots, but he held his ground.
Kael slid sideways, Iron Fang flashing in an upward cut aimed for the creature's joint. The edge bit into chitin, sparks and sap spraying. The Guardian jerked back before he could go deeper.
It came again, this time sweeping low. Kael jumped, but a backhand from its second arm caught him midair, sending him crashing into the root-laced wall. His breath left in a grunt.
He barely rolled aside before a talon punched into the floor where his head had been.
Ryn's bolt struck the Guardian's neck plating, sinking halfway before it snapped the shaft with a twist. "Not enough," she hissed.
"Keep it busy," Kael called, already moving.
The Guardian lunged for her instead. Kael's Ember Lunge ignited, the burst of heat propelling him into its side. His knife cut deep into the gap between shoulder plates. Sap boiled in the wound, the Guardian shrieking as it spun.
[B-Rank (Low) | GP: 983 + 20 = 1,003 ]
It tried to grab him, but Kael dropped low, sliding between its legs. He slashed at the tendons in its knees, feeling Iron Fang bite through. The Guardian stumbled but caught itself, spinning with unnatural agility for its size.
Its talons raked across his shoulder. Stonehide absorbed most of it, but he felt the skin split under the plating. Blood warmed his collar.
The heart's pulse was faster now — the Guardian's wounds seemed to anger it. Roots along the ceiling trembled, dropping strands that tried to wrap around Kael's arms.
He cut them away, but more kept falling. The hive was trying to pin him down for the killing blow.
Ryn's voice cut through: "Joint gaps, back of the head — softer there!"
Kael didn't answer. He was already moving, letting Ember Lunge push him into a spiraling run around the Guardian. It swiped and missed, turning too slowly to follow.
He leapt onto its back, driving his blade at the seam where the neck plating met the skull. Iron Fang slid in, cutting through sap-filled tissue.
The Guardian roared, thrashing. It slammed backward into the wall, crushing him between its bulk and the roots.
Kael's vision went black for a heartbeat.
When it cleared, he was on the floor, lungs burning. The Guardian turned, stepping over him to bring both talons down.
He rolled left, the strike splitting the floor where he'd been. The impact shook the whole chamber, knocking loose chunks of plaster and root from the ceiling.
It's stronger than the Keeper… but slower to recover from deep hits.
Kael pushed up, letting Stonehide harden every inch of his body. The Guardian came again, but this time he met it head-on. Its talons scraped across his plating, sparks flaring where they struck.
He took the hit deliberately — because it opened the gap he needed.
Ember Lunge ignited, heat roaring through his limbs. He surged inside its guard, stabbing low at the thigh joint. The blade sank deep, Iron Fang cutting straight through the root bundle anchoring the limb.
The Guardian stumbled, one knee buckling. Kael didn't let up — another cut to the opposite joint, then a slash across its abdomen where the chitin was thinner. Sap sprayed in arcs, the smell acrid and sharp.
[B-Rank (Low) | GP: 1,003 + 20 = 1,023]
It lashed out wildly now, more beast than soldier. Kael ducked under a swing, planted a foot on the broken plating at its knee, and vaulted up to its chest.
The four burning eyes locked on him — and for an instant, he saw Mara's hive eye overlaid in their glow.
His grip tightened on the knife.
The Guardian's mouth split open, revealing rows of chitin fangs. It roared, the sound echoing through the chamber like the hive itself screaming.
Kael drove his knife between its eyes. Iron Fang pierced deep, and Ember Lunge ignited at the same instant, burning the wound from within. The Guardian convulsed, its arms flailing wildly.
He ripped the blade free, dropping to the floor as the Guardian collapsed. The roots in the ceiling slackened, their movement sluggish now.
[B-Rank (low) | GP: 1,023 + 35 = 1,058 ]
The heart thumped hard enough to rattle the vat. Without its Guardian, it was exposed — but still very much alive.
Kael stepped toward it, the knife slick with sap and blood.
"Do it," Ryn said, voice hard.
He hesitated.
Every beat of the heart seemed to echo in his own chest. He could feel the connection now — threads of energy running from the heart outward, one of them stretching into the distance like a tether. He knew where it led.
Mara.
He could kill it now. End the hive's control over this district. But if that tether snapped, what would happen to her?
His fingers tightened around the hilt.
The heart's surface pulsed, a shiver running through it like it could feel his indecision.
A whisper slid into his mind — not words, but the same cold pressure he'd felt when Mara had spoken with the hive's voice. It was the hive, offering… something.
Keep her alive. Leave the heart. Walk away.
Kael shut his eyes for a moment, then opened them.
"No," he said.
Stonehide coated his arms, bracing for whatever the heart might throw. Iron Fang sharpened the blade to a killing edge. Ember Lunge lit under his ribs, heat coiling for the strike.
He leapt.
The knife came down —
—and a wall of roots erupted from the vat, catching him midair. They slammed him back into the floor, pinning him in place. The heart's beat quickened, the tether to Mara flaring bright in his mind.
In the distance, he thought he heard her scream.